The Ultimate Guide To Choosing a High Chair That Supports Feeding Development (and Lasts for Years)
Choosing the right high chair for your child can be a game-changer in their feeding journey!
It will be here before you know it - time to start solids with your baby! You’re looking for the best high chair for your baby… but what actually makes the best high chair? As a feeding therapist and mom who’s seen mealtimes evolve through countless stages, I can't overstate how game-changing it is to find a high chair that supports your baby’s feeding skills, and grows with them through childhood.
Why the Right High Chair Matters
The right high chair does so much more than just keep your baby contained at mealtime. A supportive chair actually helps your baby learn to eat more safely and comfortably, and can grow with them through the toddler years (and beyond).
Many parents don’t realize that providing supportive seating is one of the most foundational things we can do to set our baby up for success when learning to eat. Our body’s #1 priority is breathing, our body’s #2 priority? Stability! If our body doesn’t feel stable, it has a hard time focusing on other tasks. Eating is actually one of the most complex things our body does, using nearly every organ and sensory system.
Do you have a child that won’t stay in their high chair? Check out my blog “Why Your Toddler Won’t Stay in Their High Chair (and What You Can Do About It)”
Systems at Work During Mealtime
Eating is actually a full-body, multi-sensory activity—your baby’s body uses nearly every system to chew, swallow, and enjoy food safely.
Respiratory system: Coordinates breathing while swallowing safely.
Musculoskeletal/postural system: Provides trunk and core stability so your child can sit upright and chew efficiently.
Nervous system: Integrates sensory input and plans motor movements for bringing food to the mouth, chewing, and swallowing.
Digestive system: Processes the food once it’s safely swallowed.
All 8 senses:
Visual: Helps your child identify food and gauge portion sizes.
Auditory: Gets our body ready for eating (e.g. hearing food sizzle), and provides feedback (e.g. crunch) as we’re eating.
Smell/olfactory: Prepares taste perception and signals safety or interest.
Taste/gustatory: Detects flavors to guide acceptance or avoidance.
Touch/tactile: Explores textures in hands and mouth, aiding in understanding how a food will react when it’s chewed, moving foods around the mouth, and chewing.
Vestibular (balance): Supports upright posture and head control.
Proprioceptive (body awareness): Helps coordinate mouth, jaw, and hand movements.
Interoception (internal sensing): Signals hunger, fullness, and comfort.
When the body is supported, all of these systems can work together, and your baby can focus on eating, learning, and enjoying mealtime instead of struggling just to stay upright.
Imagine Sitting on a Bar Stool…
That’s why posture and support during mealtimes matter so much—when babies are supported with stable feet and upright posture, they can focus more on learning to chew, swallowing safely, and enjoying family meals. Just think about it, have you ever been seated in a bar stool at a restaurant? You probably immediately search for the footrest with your feet. If there’s no foot rest? You’re uncomfortable! When our legs are dangling we have to use extra core strength to support our legs. If this is challenging as an adult, think of how much is can affect a baby learning to eat!
That’s why choosing the right high chair matters so much—and why I’m sharing my favorites with you today!
What should you look for in a high chair?
When I help families choose a high chair, these are the elements that I’m looking for:
Adjustable footrest – Supported feet = stability, which helps your child focus on eating instead of using their core to support their legs. This also helps babies and toddlers sit upright in their chairs instead of slouching down with tucked hips.
Seat height options – This feature allows your baby to sit at the correct tray/table height as they grow. The tray/table should hit halfway between their belly button and breastbone. When baby is too low (or even too high) it becomes challenging to reach and access the food on their tray.
Supportive, not oversized seats - This allows your baby to have a supportive backrest without being too far from the tray/table. Some high chair seats are so deep that when baby is leaning against the backrest, they can’t reach the food on their tray! It also becomes an issue when there is too much extra space on the sides, which might cause your baby to slump over to the side.
Removable tray – Once your baby is ready, this allows them to sit right up at the table with the family. This is an important feature as your child grows and matures.
Longevity – A chair that grows with your child and helps support their feeding skills beyond just learning to eat. Did you know one of the reasons a lot of kids get out of their chair during meals, or fidget in their seats, is because they’re not supported? So many kids go straight from a high chair as a baby, to a regular sized adult chair! In adult-sized chairs kids are not at the appropriate table height, and they don’t have any foot support. Having a chair that grows with your child solves this issue and can help keep family meals enjoyable for everyone!
What we’re looking for in a high chair:
We’re looking for 90-90-90 positioning! 90 degree angles at the hips, knees, and ankles for optimal support.
My Favorite High Chairs as a Feeding Therapist
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Stokke Tripp Trapp
This is my personal favorite high chair and the one I use at our home, making it one of my top recommendations. The Stokke Tripp Trapp has both an adjustable seat (for height and depth) and footrest (also for height and depth), so you can always set it up to support your child correctly. You can start with the baby set and tray for babies, then remove them as your child grows so they can sit right at the table. I’d recommend keeping the baby set on and removing the tray first, and then once your child is very stable (around 3 years old), you can remove the baby set. This chair truly grows with your child—even into adulthood! Just don’t forget to actually adjust it! It comes in multiple different colors for the wood and the cushion. The cushion is optional, however, I find it especially helpful for extra support when starting solids around 6 months. It definitely has a high price tag, but if it’s within your budget, I find that it’s worth it. There are also more affordable options available if you get only the chair and the baby set, and purchase a compatible tray (this tray actually allows suction cup plates/bowls to stick better than the Stokke brand tray!) and cushion from different companies.
Abiie Beyond High Chair
If you want something a little more budget-friendly than the Tripp Trapp but still highly adjustable, the Abiie Beyond is a fantastic choice. The seat system lets you quickly adjust both the footrest and seat height (no tools required, making it even easier to adjust on the fly than the Tripp Trapp). Unlike the Tripp Trapp, the seat and footrest cannot be adjusted for depth, making it slightly less customizable. The tray is removable, so your child can join the table when they’re ready. It checks most of the boxes, and is easy to clean, making it one of my top recommendations for families. It now comes in a variety of colors, too! This is even the high chair we used for feeding therapy when I worked in outpatient.
Keekaroo Height Right High Chair
I have not used the Keekaroo personally, but this is another fully adjustable high chair option for both the seat height and foot rest, at a more affordable price point. It looks like there is only a waist buckle, rather than a 5-point harness, making it a bit less secure, especially when your child starts trying to stand and climb out of their high chair!
What If I already have a non-adjustable high chair?
It is definitely possible to make at-home adjustments to non-adjustable high chairs. Some adjustments you can make to help your baby feel more supported includes putting hand towels on the seat to bring your baby up higher in the seat if the tray is too high, small rolled up towels on the sides to provide more support if your baby is slumped over to the side, small towels on the backrest to bring your baby closer to the tray, and yoga blocks or pasta boxes to help bring the foot rest up to their feet.
You can use pasta boxes to make a foot rest for your existing high chair.
You can use hand towels on the seat to help bring your child up higher in their high chair if their tray is too high and restricting their arm movements.
Final Thoughts
When choosing a high chair, it’s not just about what looks nice in your kitchen—it’s about what will help your child feel secure, stable, and ready to eat, to support them through their feeding journey and learning to eat.
If you want a long-term investment that grows with your child: Stokke Tripp Trapp.
If you want adjustable features and easily cleanable at a moderate price point: Abiie Beyond.
If you want another long-lasting wooden option at a more affordable price point : Keekaroo Height Right.
No matter which you choose, making sure your child has proper support at mealtimes will make eating safer, easier, and more enjoyable—for them and for you!
Need some guidance for starting solids? Check out my blogs Part 1 and Part 2 for starting solids.
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This website and information on this blog post is provided for educational purposes only. It is not meant as medical advice, intended to replace a speech-language or feeding assessment, therapy from a speech-language pathologist, or serve as medical or nutritional care for a child. It is recommended that you discuss any concerns or questions you might have with your speech-language pathologist, pediatrician, and medical team, and develop an individualized team plan specifically for your child.